 Poster: A snowHead
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MeteoFrance avalanche bulletins for winter 2025/26 are now available in English (and Spanish, Italian & German) - (please read the full post for context).
The translated versions will be available on the skitourenguru.com website thanks to the support of Skitourenguru and the Petzl Foundation.
This follows discussions this summer between myself, Phil Jardine (Eagle Ski Club), the Petzl Foundation (Olivier Moret), Günter Schmudlach (the man behind skitourenguru) and of course MeteoFrance.
This is a first implementation and is based on AI/automatic translation (much experimentation was done with different models) as the ressources are simply not available to translate 30+ individual bulletins daily in a short time frame.
To access the bulletins:
- on the skitourenguru website homepage, zoom in on the map - the avalanche bulletin 'areas' are shaded in a colour linked to the risk level - find your area and click on it - on the right hand side of the screen you will have access to the avalanche bulletin information.
Please note :
- as mentioned above this service is based on an automatic translation tool, however we are developing a specific glossary of terms/words to aid in accurate translation...
- this has been a purely voluntary initiative (meteofrance have very tight budget, so few spare ressources to put into translation)
- MeteoFrance avalanche bulletins, being written in 'la langue de Molière', unfortunately have a tendancy towards 'flowery' language, and non-standardised terms/descriptors when compared to many other avalanche bulletin services. This presents a challenge at the best of times for a human translator, never mind a machine.
- Following these first trials we do hope at some point that MeteoFrance will be able to integrate this directly into their services, but there are no guarantees of this currently.
- The current system is far from perfect, but it is a first step, it is better than what there was (nothing...) and hopefully can be improved 'en route'
Feedback is welcome if you spot any dodgy/dangerous/incomprehensible translations.
You can email to me at info <at> offpisteskiing.com and i will collate any feedback and pass it on.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@offpisteskiing, thank you very, very much for that! Straight to the top of my skiing Bookmarks.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thats a good development. Google translate has come up with some hilarious (bizarre) but not very useful versions of the "...flowery' language, and non-standardised terms/descriptors..." for me in the past.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@offpisteskiing, it's very glitchy on a mobile, map comes up briefly then disappears have tried a few times?
I'll check desktop later
Ironically just viewed MeteoFrance and dont know if it's because I'm still in UK but translation is pretty good.
https://meteofrance.com/meteo-montagne/alpes-du-sud/risques-avalanche
Triggered avalanches: Several slabs are in place, more numerous and recent on the Haut-Guil due to the wind-driven snowfall this Friday in that area. On the Haut-Guil, these instabilities are present from around 2000/2200 m, easily triggered by a skier but generally thin. They then generate small avalanches, very rarely medium-sized ones. Above 2500 m and across the entire massif, instabilities are present on shaded slopes (West/North/East), even far from ridges and breaks in slope. Triggering is possible by a skier/hiker, resulting in a small to medium-sized slab avalanche on the Haut-Guil.
Furthermore, on north-facing slopes, the triggering and propagation of avalanches can be facilitated by the sub-layer composed of cohesionless grains (a persistent weak layer). These layers are generally more difficult to trigger, but can produce medium-sized avalanches.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Weathercam wrote: |
@offpisteskiing, it's very glitchy on a mobile, map comes up briefly then disappears have tried a few times?
I'll check desktop later
Ironically just viewed MeteoFrance and dont know if it's because I'm still in UK but translation is pretty good.
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Interesting to know - mobile version works smoothly for me - iphone SE gen 2
Are you using in-browser translation for the website?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@offpisteskiing, looks great have passed a link to jnr who tours fairly regularly, thanks for all the work !
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Well done. Normally in France it's polite to make effort with local language : however an avalanche bulletin in English is long over due.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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This is excellent, thanks for your efforts 
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@offpisteskiing, These are great. Thanks to all involved. Just had a look around Puy Saint Vincent for the post NYE ski trip and translations all look good to me.
Really good to have in English so much less faff.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Cheers, that’s very handy 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@offpisteskiing, many thanks for this Simon.
It’s reassuring to hear that we’re not the only ones struggling with the language of these bulletins - and also slightly disturbing!
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I’ve been comparing the slope angle overlays for several apps and Skitourenguru seems to have the higher resolution.
Overall a really useful planning tool irrespective of the translation feature.
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You know it makes sense.
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@offpisteskiing, is the translation still a thing. When I looked this morning it was back to French ? But the translation works on my laptop... Wonder if it's about accepting the Ts and Cs.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@AndAnotherThing.., ah - thanks for pointing that out - just had a look via my iphone and it came up in FR. I am off skis tomorrow in my other office so will follow that up.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@AndAnotherThing.., @offpisteskiing, think that was the same problem I had but it was down to GIGO 
See previous posts above 2
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@offpisteskiing, @Weathercam,
I did try and refresh and ensure that the accept was accepted - this on an iPhone too.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| AndAnotherThing.. wrote: |
@offpisteskiing, @Weathercam,
I did try and refresh and ensure that the accept was accepted - this on an iPhone too. |
Works on my laptop... Hmmm. Will pass it back up the line...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@AndAnotherThing.., @Weathercam,
The glitch is down to domain names... for reasons I won't go into the translations are only available on skitourenguru.com, and not on skitourenguru.ch (plus you have to accept the Ts&Cs as per above).
What is a pain is that large parts of the '.ch' version are translated into EN, just not the BERA detail...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@offpisteskiing, ok - I'm was on .ch on the phone.. Can confirm .com works ok instead.
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FAQ
